Lock means



Aug. 22, 1961 E. s. CISCO ETAL LOCK MEANS Filed NOV. 16, 1959 INVENTOR54 Fizuard 5 62.960,

Gearge]? O'Leafg United States Patent 2,997,322 LOCK MEANS Edward S. Cisco and George R. OLeary, Highland, Ind.,

assignors to Stanray Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 853,358 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-108) This invention relates to an improved lock assembly for securing removable roofs to railroad gondola and hopper cars.

The advantages attendant the use of detachable roofs for various types of railroad cars including gondolas and hopper cars have long been recognized. Among these advantages are the features of permitting top loading of the car by the use of cranes, the introduction of long articles such as pipe and poles, for example, and the miscellaneous advantages accruing from being able to use the same car as both a closed car and an open car.

However, the fastening of these removable roofs to gondola or hopper cars has posed a serious problem due particularly to the non-rhythmical and multi-direct-ional forces resulting from the movement of the car along the track and acting to dislodge the root from its attachment to the car.

Therefore, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a locking assembly for securing removable roofs to railroad gondola and hopper cars which is sufliciently rugged and effective to maintain the roof securely in position during long periods of travel while withstanding the forces tending to dislodge the roof from the car.

Indeed, since railroad equipment generally is subjected to such hard use any locking equipment for use therewith must, of necessity, be made entirely of relatively heavy parts capable of withstanding considerable abuse. Further, since every railroad car is likely to be sent to all diverse parts of the country and used by all types of diverse personnel, including those not acquainted with each and every type of locking assembly used, such a lock must be simple and sure in its operation to facilitate ready understanding and simple eifective usage.

Therefore, it is the further object of this invention to provide a locking assembly for securing detachable roofs to railroad and gondola and hopper cars, which is exceedingly simple and sure in operation, and rigid in construction.

Further objects and advantages of the subject invention will become evident from an examination of the particular description and the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view showing an embodiment of the subject lock assembly securing the edge of a roof to the bulb angle side plate of a railroad car;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the lock assembly shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the lock dog latch used in the lock assembly shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the lock dog latch shown in FIGURE 3.

The locking assembly is shown in FIGURE 1 as mounted on the roof extension flange 8 of a type generally used, this arrangement providing more versatility in permitting roofs equipped with the subject locking means to be used with all types of open-top cars. Also, although but one locking assembly is shown it is to be understood that this invention comprehends the use of a plurality of such assemblies placed appropriately about the periphery of the roof to effect a secure fastening to the car.

As seen in FIGURE 1 the locking assembly is comprised generally of a lock dog 2 pivotally mounted in a lock support 4 and held in place by a pivotally mounted lock dog latch 6.

The lock support 4 is welded to the upper horizontal Patented Aug. 22, 1961 surface of the roof extension flange 8 and is generally U- shaped when viewed from the top as in FIGURE 2, including two parallel, spaced mounting flanges 10 and 12 extending outwardly from and connected by the vertical end wall 14. The mounting flanges 10 and 12 and the end wall are substantially vertical in relation to the roof flange 8, although the upper portion of the end wall 14 is inclined upwardly and inwardly at 15 away from the roof edge to afford a camming surface for the lock dog latch 6 as will be further described.

The lock dog 2 is provided with a lock dog trunnion 20, semi-cylindrical in shape and welded horizontally along the outer surface of the lock dog. The lock dog 2 and trunnion 20 are substantially the same width which is slightly less than the distance between the mounting flanges 10 and 12. This permits the lock dog 2 and the lock dog trunnion 2i thereon to be inserted between the mounting flanges 10 and 12 and the bore defined by the trunnion 2t) aligned with the apertures 22 and 24 in the flanges 10 and 12 respectively. The lock dog is then pivotally secured between the flanges 10 and 12 of the lock support 4 by inserting the lock dog pin 26 through the aligned apertures 22 and 24 and the lock dog trunnion 20. The lock dog pin is then secured with respect to the flanges 1t) and 12 as by welding, or other mechanical means, to prevent its removal.

The lock dog 2 is seen to extend upwardly beyond the trunnion pivot 26 to form a latching lever 29 extending between the mounting flanges 10 and 12 and spaced from the end wall 14 sufficiently to permit rotation of the lever in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1. The lock dog 2 also extends downwardly from said trunnion pivot 20 to form a hook 21 adapted to extend around the outermost edge of the roof flange 8 and terminating in a clamping jaw 16 extending under the bulb angle side plate 18. The shape of the hook 21 and its relation to pivot 26 provides an overbalancing weight which biases the clamping jaw in the locked position shown in FIGURE 1. With the lock dog thus pivotally mounted between the flanges of the lock support 4 it is seen in FIGURE 1 that the lower clamping jaw 16 can be rotated outwardly and upwardly to be disengaged from its contact with the bulb angle side plate 18. Further, when it is desired to secure the roof extension 8 with respect to the bulb angle side plate 18 the lock dog 2 is pivoted downwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 1. In this position, the latching lever 29 is substantially parallel with the end wall 14 for a purpose to be described.

To secure the lock dog 2 into place and thus fasten the roof extension 8 with respect to the bulb angle side plate 18, a latching means is provided which includes two identical, substantially rectangular, spaced, latch brackets 28 and 30 having aligned apertures 31 and 33 extending therethrough. Each of the latching brackets 28 and 31 is secured by welding the lower half of each of the edges of the respective brackets to the outer side of the mounting flange 10 of the lock support 4 so that each of the latch brackets extends outwardly substantially perpendicular to and projecting above the mounting flange 10. The latch brackets 28 and 3d are spaced sufliciently to receive the mounting flange 34 of lock dog latch 6.

As best seen in FIGURE 4, lock dog latch 6 is generally L-shaped in configuration with the aforementioned mounting flange 34 forming one leg of the L and provided with a circular aperture 36 adjacent its outermost end, the inside edge of the latching flange 37 being tapered slightly upwardly and inwardly as seen at 38 in FIGURE 3 so that the lower corner rests against mounting flange 10 in locked position, and compensates for manufacturing tolerances of the various parts. The lock dog latch 6 is mounted between the respective latch brackets 28 and 30 and the aperture 36 aligned with the apertures 31 and 33. A look dog latch pin 42 is inserted into the aligned apertures and secured to the respective latch brackets to prevent removal. The forward portion of the lock dog latch forming the other arm of the L extends substantially perpendicularly in relation to the mounting flange portion to form a latching flange 37 terminating in a lower portion inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the rear Wall 14 to form an angled flange 40. Also a camming block 41 of substantially rectangular configuration is welded to the latching flange 37 and extends outwardly intocontact with the end wall 14 in the locking position. When the latch is pivoted downwardly between the latching lever 29 and the end wall 14, camming block 41 slides downwardly on the inclined catmning surface of the end wall 1'4 and wedging flange -40 slides downwardly on lever 29 into a snug fit between lever 29 and end wall 14. At the innermost end the lock dog latch is formed with a second aperture 44- to provide an easy gripping surface for the removal of the latch by the gloved hand of workmen who will be utilizing this particular device.

In operation the roof is set in place on the bulb angle side plate 18 with the extension flange 8 extending over the edge of the plate. The lock dog latch 6 is pivoted around latch pin 42 with the top edge of the latch lying along the outer edge of the lock support bracket 10. The lock dog 2 is then free to be pivoted about lock dog pin 26 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE l and upwardly until the reversed curved portion or hook comes to rest on the top edge of the end wall 14.

When the roof is in place and it is desired to secure the roof to the bulb angle side plate the lock dog 2 is then pivoted in a counterclockwise direction until the clamp jaw 16 is swung into locking position under the lower outermost extremity of the bulb angle side plate 18. Then, the lock dog latch 6 is rotated into the position shown in FIGURE 1. After the flange 40 has contacted the top edge of the latching lever 29 the innermost edge of the camming block 41 contacts the inclined surface 15 of the end wall 14 and progresses downwardly by gravity causing the lock dog latch 6 to be positioned between the latching lever 29 and the end wall 1'4, preventing movement therebetween and securing clamping jaw 16 into position beneath the bulb angle plate 18.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when the assembly is in the locking position, the clamping jaw 16 underlaps the lower surface of the bulb angle side plate 18 and holds the roof securely thereto, preventing relative vertical movement therebetween; the downwardly projecting edge of the roof extension extending beyond the edge of the bulb angle side plates 18, to compensate to a degree for distorted bulb angle side plates.

When it is desired to remove the roof assembly from the railroad car the latch 6 is rotated upwardly from the space between the end wall M and the latching lever 29. The lock dog latch 2 is then free for rotation about its axis and can be rotated clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 1 to free the roof extension 8 from the bulb angle side plate 18. The roof may then be removed from the car.

While the disclosure sets forth the invention as applied to a bulb angle side plate of an open-top freight car, it is obvious that the lock assembly may be used in connection with other side plate constructions, such as angles or channels.

Thus, it is seen from the foregoing description and drawings that the particular relationship and combination of elements has provided an improved lock assembly for use in temporarily securing removable roofs to railroad gondola and hopper cars, which assembly is sufliciently rugged and eifective to maintain the roof securely in position during long periods of travel while withstanding the forces tending to dislodge the roof from the car and which is exceedingly sure and simple in operation, and rigid in construction.

We claim:

1. A locking assembly for securing a removable roof to an open-top railroad car having side plates, comprising a lock support secured to said roof and including two parallel spaced mounting brackets connected by an end wall, a lock dog pivotally mounted between said mounting brackets and extending beyond the pivot to form a latching lever, said lock dog extending oppositely beyond said pivot and forming a clamping jaw for securing said roof to said car, and a dog latch pivotally mounted on one of said side brackets for-med with a latching flange having cam means projecting toward said end wall, said dog latch pivoting into position with said cam means between said latching lever and said end wall to prevent movement therebetween.

2. A locking assembly for a removable roof to an open-top railroad car having side plates, comprising a lock support secured to said roof and including two parallel spaced mounting brackets connected by an end wall, a lock dog pivotally mounted between said mounting brackets and extending beyond the pivot to form a latching lever spaced from said end wall, the upper portion of said end wall being inclined upwardly and away from said lever, said lock dog extending oppositely beyond said pivot and forming a clamping jaw for securing said roof to said car, and a dog latch pivotally mounted at one end on one of said brackets and formed with a latching flange having cam means, said dog latch pivoting into position with said cam means between said latching lever and said end wall to prevent movement therebetween.

3. A locking assembly for securing a removable roof to an open-top railroad car, comprising a lock support se cured to said roof and including two parallel spaced mounting brackets connected by an end wall, a lock dog pivotally mounted between said mounting brackets and extending beyond the pivot to form a latching lever spaced from said end wall, the upper portion of said wall being inclined upwardly and away from said lever, said lock dog extending oppositely beyond said pivot to form a clamping jaw for securing said roof to said car, and a dog latch pivotally mounted at one end on one of said brackets and formed with a latching flange having means projecting outwardly toward said end wall, said latching flange pivoting into position with said means between said latching lever and said end wall to prevent movement therebetween.

4. A locking assembly for securing a removable roof to an open-top railroad car having side plates, comprising a lock support secured to said roof and including two parallel spaced mounting brackets connected by an end wall, a lock dog pivotally mounted between said mounting brackets and extending beyond the pivot to form a latching lever spaced from said end wall, the upper portion of said end wall being inclined upwardly and away from said lever, said lock dog extending oppositely beyond said pivot to form a hook to extend around the edge of said roof and side plate and tenminating in a clamping jaw extending under said side plate in the locking position, and a dog latch pivotally mounted on one of said brackets formed with a latching flange having the lower portion inclined downwardly and away from said lever, said flange having means projecting outwardly toward said end wall, and pivoting in the space between said latching lever and said end wall to prevent movement therebetween.

5. A locking assembly for securing a removable roof to the side plates of a railroad car, comprising a lock support secured to said roof and including an upwardly projecting end wall parallel to and spaced from the edge of said roof and two parallel spaced mounting brackets projecting outwardly from said end plates toward said edge, a lock dog pivotally mounted between said mounting brackets and extending from said pivot to form a hook to extend around the edge of said roof and side plate and terminating in .a cl mping jaw exte in u d r sa sideplate in the locking position, said lock dog extending oppositely from said pivot to provide a latching lever extending between said side walls parallel to and spaced from said end wall in the locking position, and a dog latch pivotally mounted on one of said mounting brackets and including a latching flange having a lower portion angled downwardly and away from said lever, said flange having a cam block projecting outwardly toward said end wall, said dog latch pivoting into the space between said lever and said end wall to prevent movement therebe- 1 tween.

6. The structure defined in claim 5, said hook of said locking dog being offset from the pivot of the lock dog, providing an overbalancing weight biasing the hook toward locking position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 929,779 Mulholland Aug. 3, 1909 970,447 Mulholland Sept. 13, 1910 1,495,373 Wit-ten May 27, 1934 2,679,419 Borland May 25, 1954 2,735,709 Thompson Feb. 21, 1956 

